PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE OF BIH STRONGLY CONDEMNS THE ATTEMPTS OF POLITICAL PRESSURE IN RELATION TO WORK AND INDEPENDENCE OF THE POBIH AND INFORMS ALL CITIZENS THAT IT WILL NOT YIELD TO POLITICAL PRESSURE

Due to instances of improper political pressure occurring in relation to the work and independence of the prosecutor’s office and the judiciary, the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH reiterates that inviting the prosecutor’s office and the Chief Prosecutor to meetings of the parliamentary committees represents an unacceptable political pressure, as well as  gross and unacceptable political interference in the independence of the judiciary.

The Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina is not a defense or security agency but a judicial institution that takes care of human rights and legality.

If these actions continue, the prosecutor’s office shall inform all relevant national and international institutions, including HJPC, about the pressuring as this practice is inappropriate in all democratic states.

Chief Prosecutor has no legal obligation or authority to talk about cases pending within the prosecutor’s office anywhere except in the courtroom, and certainly not on parliamentary commission meetings or meetings of any other political institution.

The Prosecutor’s Office of BiH shows a lot of respect and appreciation for the institutions of the legislative and executive authorities in BiH who propose and pass laws, but believes that independence of the judiciary as the third pillar of equal power should also be respected. The Parliament is not, and can not be, superior to the judicial authorities but an equal institution.

No one, especially politicians, will not and can not decide whether the prosecutor’s office shall indict someone or not.

All holders of judicial functions, including prosecutors, answer only to judicial professionals i.e. HJPC BiH which appoints and dismisses them, not to politicians or political bodies.

The law explicitly stipulates to whom the Prosecutor’s Office reports to and is obliged to provide information for.

The Prosecutor’s Office of BiH informs the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina that it will not succumb to any political pressure and that it will persevere in the observance of legality and the fight against organized crime, corruption and war crimes. It shall not be prevented by anyone or anything, not even the political pressures of individual politicians.

The results of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH can be seen through operations that are being conducted almost everyday on requests of the prosecutor’s office, indictments being issued against perpetrators of all forms of organized crime, war crimes, terrorism, as well as resolving of serious unsolved murders, aggravated robberies and robberies, of which the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina are informed by the media.

We shall not enter into discussions with the politicians in the future, because we believe that it would be a shame to use the energy and efforts of the prosecutor’s office on political debate instead of work on cases.

The public will soon be informed about the new successes in the work of the Prosecutor’s Office, as it is preparing to issue one of the largest indictments against organized crime in post-Dayton Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Respectfully,

Goran Salihović

Chief Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH